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Thousands of people have already signed up for a free online Aboriginal education course the University of Toronto will be offering this coming winter.
The four-week, non-credit course titled Aboriginal Worldviews and Education, will begin in late February.
The course is offered in partnership with Coursera, an American-based company that started up early this year. Coursera has joined forces with 16 universities to offer various free online courses.
U of T is currently the only Canadian university involved in the partnerships. The other schools are in the United States, Scotland, India and Switzerland.
U of T will also offer four other courses through Coursera this coming school year. Three of those are in computer science while the other one is a course on the social context of mental health.
Interest in the Aboriginal Worldviews and Education course has been staggering. Less than a month after registration opened more than 4,200 individuals had signed up for the course.
“We knew from looking at partnerships that registration could be very high in some courses,” said Cheryl Regehr, U of T’s vice provost of academic programs. “It certainly shows there is tremendous interest in people learning more.”
People from 190 countries had signed up for various Coursera courses. As of mid-August, a total of 119 courses were being offered worldwide.
But Regehr was not able to provide a number for countries from which people had signed on for the Aboriginal course. The U of T course is open to both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people.
Some of the topics that will be covered in the course include historical, social, and political issues in Aboriginal education. Also discussed will be cultural, spiritual and philosophical themes in Aboriginal worldviews.
The course description states students should be prepared to commit six to eight hours per week to the program.
There are no registration limits for Coursera courses. And also individuals are allowed to take as many courses as they wish.
Officials with the various schools partnered with Coursera hope that some of those that do take courses will also eventually be interested in taking other credit ones from their school that they would pay for.
“We are not currently offering a second part to it,” Regehr said of the Aboriginal course at U of T. “But we do have many (Aboriginal-themed) courses that are for credit.”
Jean-Paul Restoule will be teaching the Aboriginal course through U of T.
He’s not surprised with how many people have already signed up.
“But I am surprised by how global the response is,” he said. “The last time I checked there were registrants from places in Europe and Africa.”
An appeal in large part is because anybody in the world that has access to a computer can take the course.
Coursera programs usually involve video lectures. Some courses also offer quizzes, assignments and discussion groups.
Restoule, a member of northern Ontario’s Anishinaabek First Nation, has taught about Aboriginal issues at a post-secondary level for the past dozen years.
Despite being a relatively short-lasting course, he’s hoping the Coursera program he teaches will make an impact.
“I hope that students will leave the course with an understanding of the value of Aboriginal perspectives for all people, as well as develop informed opinions on matters relating to Aboriginal peoples, develop understandings and respect for our histories, cultures, values, contemporary contexts, struggles, aspirations and realities,” he said.
Those interested in registering for the Aboriginal course, or any other Coursera programs, can do so at www.coursera.org
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